


My guardian now

by Rudolphsd



Category: Kingdom Hearts (Video Games)
Genre: But just a little, Gen, Internalized Homophobia, Kingdom Hearts III Spoilers, Post-Kingdom Hearts II, Two Shot, guest starring riku's gay angst
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-07
Updated: 2020-09-21
Packaged: 2021-03-07 07:15:36
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 8,067
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26349214
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Rudolphsd/pseuds/Rudolphsd
Summary: The worlds were returned to normal. Riku could be a normal teenager again, worrying about homework, not Heartless.Everything was fine.So why was Ansem's guardian still trying to protect Riku?And why did the guardian feel so familiar?(An AU where Riku kept Ansem's guardian after he got rid of Ansem.)
Relationships: Kairi/Sora (Kingdom Hearts), Riku & Terra (Kingdom Hearts), Riku/Sora (Kingdom Hearts)
Comments: 12
Kudos: 103





	1. Part 1

**Author's Note:**

> This work was loosely inspired by @po||enstar 's art:  
> https://www.google.com/url?q=https://twitter.com/poIIenstar/status/1126727024779747328&sa=D&ust=1599523016903000&usg=AFQjCNFJ2l-M70IZ5ZCVtT1cgfCnEk5SEg
> 
> They have really good art so you should check them out.

It started at night, because of course it did.

Riku was walking on the streets of Destiny Islands, his long hair blowing in the island breeze. He took in the sights, grateful that the tiny, stuffy islands were alive again. His mistakes had been fixed. Everything was okay. All of the shops were closed, but bugs whirred around warm streetlights that cast dark shadows in the wide dirt road. Riku could smell the sea and the humidity in the air, and-

There was a noise, loud and out of nowhere. Later he would wonder if it was a cat or some island creature that had wandered too far from the forest, but the important thing was the noise. It made Riku jump into a fighting stance, Way to the Dawn in hand. He looked around, but there was nothing dangerous: no Heartless, no Nobodies- nothing. Riku did a last turn-

-and that was when he saw it: Ansem’s guardian, hovering above his shoulders.

“No!”

Because if _that_ was here, then that meant Ansem wasn’t really gone. The last few peaceful weeks were all a lie, because he never truly been free. Riku looked at his hands, and they were still his, but for how much longer? He needed to leave before he put his home in danger again.

Just as suddenly as it appeared, the guardian disappeared. Riku searched his heart, but he found no trace of Ansem.

_Maybe it was just a shadow. Or a memory._

He went home and tried to forget about it. It didn’t work until Riku started thinking about Sora. He fell asleep with a smile on his face.

  
  


The next time it happened was at night, too. Riku was heading upstairs to his bedroom for a few hours of tossing and turning (because sleeping was hard) when something touched his shoulder. It was a gentle touch, but it made Riku jump and spin around.

His mother shrieked.

“Mom? What’s wrong? Mom, are you okay?”

She was trembling. “Behind you, there was- there was a shadow.” She took a shaky breath. “Sorry for scaring you like that. I guess my eyes were playing tricks on me.”

Riku’s heart sped up.

“A big shadow? With arms crossed?”

“Yes.” Riku’s mother reached for him. She had been doing that ever since he came back… home, technically. “How did you know?”

“Lucky guess,” Riku said stiffly. “Good night, Mom.”

“Good night,” she said. “I love you.”

She had been saying that more, too.

“I love you, too. Goodnight.”

Riku tried not to run to his bedroom, tried not to slam the door shut, and tried not to hyperventilate as he collapsed on his bed and threaded his hands through his hair, but he didn’t think he succeeded.

If his mother saw it, it was real. There was no escaping it.

Way to the Dawn flashed into Riku’s hands.

“Face me, Ansem,” he growled. “I’ve defeated you before, and I’ll defeat you again. I don’t care how many times it takes. I won’t let you hurt Sora or anyone else.”

His words punctured the still air of his room, where they lingered unanswered.

Riku closed his eyes and searched his heart. Still no Ansem. There was plenty of darkness, but it was his darkness, not Ansem’s. 

That couldn’t be right. The guardian was Ansem’s, so if it was still here, then Ansem had to be too.

“Come out,” Riku didn’t shout. It was more of a loud hiss, an order.

The guardian materialized in front of him. It had to slouch slightly to avoid hitting the ceiling. Its mouth was still frozen in a permanent grimace, and its yellow eyes were blank and listless as it loomed over Riku. 

“Why are you here?”

There was no answer, not even a flicker of movement besides its slight swaying motion. Nothing. Those eyes had as much life in them as a doll’s or a puppet’s did. It was an extra set of fighting hands, nothing more.

“Then why did you come out?”

Blank eyes stared.

Riku scowled. 

“Stay back unless I tell you to. That’s… that’s an order.”

Was that how this thing worked? Riku didn’t know, but the guardian dissolved into shadow anyway.

  
  


Eventually, enough time passed where Riku figured that it listened to him, and it would stay in his heart forever without popping up since Riku was home and didn’t need the power of darkness any more than he needed his Keyblade. 

He still used his Keyblade on occasion, which might have been why it turned up again.

He was sparring with Kairi on the play island. It was Sora’s turn to keep watch to make sure nobody saw the Keyblades, but they both kept an eye out anyway because it was _Sora_ ; he was almost definitely asleep, the lazy bum.

Most of Riku’s attention was on his fight with Kairi. Her strategy seems to be ‘hit it until it goes down,’ and normally Riku would call it into question, but he had been blocking and dodging for almost two minutes and still couldn’t find an opening. He swiped Way to the Dawn in an attempt to counter-attack, but Kairi used the opportunity to hit him in the arm.

It was nothing, really- he had taken far worse and continued fighting without a second thought countless times in the past. Maybe it was because he hadn’t been hit in such a long time or because he was sick of taking Kairi’s hits or just because, but there was the tiniest burst of panic. It was closer to surprise than fear, but his heart still felt it.

And that was all it took.

The guardian shot from Riku’s shoulders and grabbed Kairi in its giant hands. She cried out, but it was squeezing the air from her lungs and Riku knew he had only seconds before Kairi blacked out, and that was only if it didn't crush her ribs.

The word came naturally in a voice cold and even.

“Submit.” 

The guardian did. Kairi tumbled to the sandy ground as it disappeared. In the blink of an eye, it was like it was never there- except for Kairi’s prone body.

“KAIRI!” Sora’s voice shouted from behind him. 

Riku was on the ground immediately, pushing as much healing magic as he could through to her. He could hear Sora running closer from behind them.

“Kairi! What happened?” Sora’s Keyblade was out and his eyes were looking for danger.

Kairi sat up.

“I’m fine,” she said. “Nothing a little magic couldn’t fix. Besides, it was more scary than anything.”

Sora looked at Riku.

“What happened?”

And Riku looked into Sora’s eyes and saw protectiveness ready to unleash itself on whatever hurt Kairi, his special someone, the most important person to him. 

He didn't want to see the look on Sora’s face when he finally admitted, “It was my fault.”

“What happened?” This time it was Kairi asking.

“It’s Ansem’s guardian,” Riku said. “Ansem’s gone for good, but for some reason, it stuck around. It appeared a few weeks ago, and I thought it had listened to me when I told it to stay away, but-” He looked down and straight into Kairi’s eyes. “I’m sorry. I thought… I thought I had better control of the darkness than that.” Riku scoffed at the very thought. 

“Maybe you shouldn’t spar for a while,” Sora suggested.

Riku had been about to suggest the same thing, but it still hurt to hear.

“What was that?”

Riku rushed home as soon as he could so he could slam the door to his room closed and yell at it. It did nothing but stare back with its blank, yellow eyes.

“I told you to stay down until I called for you! Why did you attack her?”

_Protect._

Riku felt the word more than he heard it. It made some of his rage lessen.

“What? You were trying to protect me?”

It didn't even blink. 

Riku gritted his teeth. He needed to be able to actually communicate with the thing, whatever it was. It was too tall for even Riku to reach its shoulder, but he could place his hand on its chest, right above the gaping hole in it.

“Do you have a heart?”

Riku closed his eyes. It was a heart, or, more specifically, a Heartless, but there was something different about this one. It still had a shred of… _something_ that other Heartless didn’t and, for some reason, it was tied completely to Riku. If he wanted, he could have smothered that something and it would have obeyed him without question. It was what he had done as Ansem without thinking twice. The guardian would become nothing more than a second pair of hands. It wouldn’t jump out without Riku’s explicit permission.

It was what he should have done, for everyone’s sake. It was the least he could do for Kairi after what he put her through.

But it was trying to protect Riku. And if he closed his eyes, there was something familiar about its presence in a way that had nothing to do with Ansem.

Without thinking too much about it, he did the opposite and loosened his connection with it. The bandages around the guardian loosened slightly. For the first time, Riku noticed that they were on so tightly that they dug into its skin.

“Don’t attack anyone else again without my permission. I mean it. If you even think about hurting one of my friends again, I’ll smother you.”

Was that the smallest of nods? Riku hoped so. It was about time something went right.

He let it hang around as he read on the bed, only asking it not to touch anything. When it was time to go to bed, he told it to disappear if and only if his mother came in the room. As Riku got under his covers, it hovered at his feet.

For the first time, it felt like it was actually guarding him, if only from bad dreams.

  
  


It was still there when Riku woke up. 

“Good morning.”

It didn't respond, but Riku kept talking to it as he got ready for the day, scooting around its giant form as needed. It was such a Sora thing to do, talking to something that couldn't respond and hoping it understood, but if Sora had Roxas and Kairi had Naminé, then Riku had… whatever this was. 

He put it back in his heart for the day. It didn't stir. 

  
  


The days passed like sand through Riku’s fingers. Talking to the guardian became as much as his routine as hanging out with Sora and Kairi and trying to make up for more than a year of lost school time. 

“I don’t suppose you could help me with this?” he asked one day as he frowned over his math assignment. 

It didn't answer. It hadn't really communicated since the one concept of protection more than a month ago. He thought it could hear him, because it reacted to sounds sometimes, but it couldn’t or wouldn’t listen to most words.

“I guess you can’t read this,” Riku muttered. He looked over it again. “Neither can I, really.”

Riku looked for any sort of response. It didn't respond more than the occasional small movement, but they could have been just idle movements. 

He didn't give up, though. Sora wouldn’t. 

One night, he was walking on the beach alone, looking up at all of the worlds that had returned, when the idea came to him. He checked to see that no one was around and let the guardian out. 

Its dark body blended into the night, but its yellow eyes glowed. Riku expected it to hover listlessly, but it looked around and up-

And something changed. The guardian’s broad shoulders slumped, and it reached for the sky as if longing for something. 

The motion was unmistakably human. 

Riku looked at the guardian like it was the first time he had seen it. What- no, _who_ was ~~it~~ he? Ansem was Xehanort’s Heartless, so was he a fragment of Xehanort’s heart? If that was the case, then Riku should have destroyed him without question. 

But that wasn’t what Sora would do. Maybe there was a part of Xehanort that could still be saved. 

Riku made up his mind. 

“Xehanort,” he said. 

And he had this whole speech planned, but it all went out the window because the guardian whipped around at the name, snarled, and swiped at Riku like a charging bear. It was only thanks to Riku’s reflexes that he escaped him. 

“Submit!”

Riku didn't want to have to do that anymore, but he had never seen the guardian so angry, despite the fact that its face was always contorted into a frozen snarl below permanently narrowed eyes. He put him back in his heart, went home, and didn't let him out for the rest of the night. 

Whoever he was, he didn't like being called Xehanort. At least that was something he learned.

The guardian was listless in the morning. Riku kept it out and felt equally relieved and disappointed. For the most part, things went back to normal. 

  
  


One night, Riku woke up to a familiar yelp outside his window. 

“Sora?”

He ran to the window, looked out, and saw Kairi bending over a fallen Sora. 

Riku opened the window. 

“Are you okay?” he whisper-shouted because his mother was probably asleep and wouldn’t be happy if she saw him sneak out at night. 

“I saw it!” Sora shouted back because he was never one for subtlety. “The guardian! It’s in the room with you.”

“I know. Give me a second.”

The guardian went back into his heart almost without prompting. Did he know they were going out? It was warm out and it was Sora and Kairi, so he just put some shorts on over his boxers and slipped on some shoes before jumping out his window and landing in a roll the way he had done a thousand times before. A small part of him hoped that Sora was impressed by it, but they had done much more impressive things together outside of the islands.

“Are you okay?” he asked Sora. 

Sora nodded. “I managed to not break anything.”

“That’s good.”

He resisted the urge to heal him. 

“Are you okay?” Kairi asked. “Sora saw that thing in your room.”

“I let him out at night,” Riku said. “Look, we’re going to the play island, right? I’ll explain on the way.”

As they walked to the docks and rowed across the sea, he told them about the guardian: how he appeared one night, why he had attacked Kairi, and the moment under the stars where he looked almost human. 

“We should give him a name,” Sora said as he hopped off the boat and gave Kairi a hand up to the dock. Riku worked on tying the boat up so he didn't think about the gesture.

“I don’t think we should,” Riku said. “What if he already had a name?”

“It can be a nickname,” Kairi suggested. 

“If you find something that works, I guess,” Riku said. “Just don’t say the X word.”

Sora thinks for a second. 

“Xemnas?”

“His other self. Don’t use his other name. He doesn’t like it.”

“Oh, Xeha-“

“Yes, that one.” Riku was glad he wasn’t out at the moment, but it might have made nicknaming him easier (if they insisted on looking for a nickname). He looked at Kairi. “Can I bring him out?”

“Sure,” she said, “if you’re sure he won’t attack again.”

“I’m sure.”

He brought out the guardian. He was a bit more lucid than normal, glancing at Kairi and staring at Sora.

“Woah,” Sora said. “That’s… it’s really Ansem’s guardian.” He waved. “Remember me? I know we fought a bunch of times, but do you want to be friends?”

Riku couldn’t stop the smile that grew on his face even if he wanted to. He _loved_ Sora.

The guardian reached out his hand and ruffled Sora’s hair. Sora giggled.

“Hey, what’s that for? You treating me like some kind of kid?”

“He looks like a Heartless,” Kairi said. “But he’s… different.”

That gave Sora pause. 

“Is it like the time I turned into a Heartless?”

“I don’t know,” Riku said. 

He wasn’t there. He was running through the realm of darkness, scared to death and feeling the regret of his actions for the first time.

“Maybe,” Kairi said. “But it’s different. I recognized you, but I have no idea who this person is.”

“Kairi, you turned Sora back, right? What did you do?”

Kairi looked away. 

“I just gave him a hug. We were all in danger, and I wanted to keep him safe.” She cleared her throat and looked back at Riku. “I don’t think I can do the same thing to him. I’m sorry.”

“It’s okay,” Riku said. “I think just meeting you two helped a lot.”

“You should bring him out more often,” Sora said. 

Riku had a feeling that if the guardian could smile, he would.

  
  


Over time, the guardian became a bit more present. Its eyes followed things and he reacted to the sounds more. It might have helped that Riku was slowly lessening the hold he had on him, but he couldn't deny the effect Sora and Kairi had on him. 

He also kept looking at Sora. Were Riku’s feelings leaking into him? He desperately hoped not, but he had no idea why he would fixate so heavily on him otherwise. 

Riku, Sora, and Kairi ditched school one day to mess around with their Keyblades. Sora was showing Keyblade strikes to Kairi, who was doing her best to copy them. Riku was content to watch them.

The guardian was watching them, too, but he was less than content. Riku had noticed that the guardian’s feelings were reaching him more. Normally, he liked watching them spar, but right now, he was… displeased about Sora and Kairi.

For the millionth time, Riku wished that he knew who this person was. Did he come from an old-fashioned world that would disapprove of girls and boys training together? Did something about Keyblades bring back bad memories? Did he have a Keyblade? He had to have run into Xehanort at some point for him to end up controlled by his Heartless, but was it a random person’s bad luck, or something else? And why did he feel familiar? Riku had only known the citizens of the Destiny Islands his entire life until he had destroyed them (he took a moment to remind himself that they were back now and everything was okay again) and the guardian had to be with Ansem by then. Unless-

The guardian moved, bringing Riku out of his thoughts. He stood in front of Sora and Kairi.

“Hi there,” Kairi said. “Do you want to train with us?”

The guardian leaned down and scooped out their front legs from under them with the ease of a cat pushing a glass off a table. They yelped and hit the sand.

“Hey! What was that for?” Riku shouted.

He couldn't bring himself to be angry (he could tell the only things Sora and Kairi hurt was their pride) but the guardian hadn’t attacked them since his instinctive lunge at Kairi. This wasn’t an attack, per se, but Riku didn't understand why he did it.

Sora sat up halfway, then flopped back down.

“I was thinking about taking a nap anyway.”

Kairi picked herself up and dusted herself off.

“Aw. I wanted to keep going.”

Riku summoned Way to the Dawn. It always pleased the guardian when he did that.

“I’ll spar with you.”

“Alright.” Kairi pulled her Keyblade back into her fighting stance, the one that mimicked Sora’s exactly. “Don’t go easy on me.”

“Believe me, I wasn’t planning-”

Riku was cut off by something tugging his ankle. The guardian was trying to sweep Riku’s foot, too, but he had too much weight on it for him to be able to knock him down. The guardian was extremely pleased by this.

That was when Riku understood.

“You don’t like how they stand,” he said.

The guardian nodded. 

“Woah,” Sora said from his nap spot. “He’s really smart for a Heartless.”

“So you weren’t just trying to be mean,” Kairi said. 

The guardian shakes his head.

Riku looked at the guardian. He had to be a warrior or a fighter of some kind. That was a big clue.

“I guess we can work on how to stand,” Riku said with a smile on his face. “That means you, Sora.”

“Aw, I already saved the worlds twice. Don’t I get a pass?”

“We can do it together,” Kairi said with a smile.

Sora smiled back and got to his feet. 

“Right!”

Riku’s smile vanished, but he didn't think about why and made himself focus on translating between the guardian and his friends as they figured out how to put their feet in a way that would make the guardian happy.

  
  


A few nights later, Riku dreamed.

He was standing on a stained-glass platform with what looked like himself on it, but before he could look at it for too long, a presence made him look up.

There was an old man on the stained glass, poised in a meditative position as if waiting for something. He wore regret like the white robe around his shoulders, but when he saw Riku, he smiled.

“You are his successor,” he said. “He chose well, I think. You should be proud.”

Then he flickered and disappeared, and Riku woke up.

Who was that? It wasn’t the guardian (Riku would have known if it were), but…

He turned the old man’s words over in his mind.

_I should be proud? Yeah, right. You’ve got the wrong person._

Riku went back to sleep and tried to forget about it.

  
  


Riku had a bad day at school. He got a failed test back, forgot half his homework at home, and got assigned an essay that was due in a few days on top of the normal load he could barely keep up with. He counted down the seconds until he could go to the play island and hit something with his Keyblade until he felt better, but he was late to his last class, and the teacher decided to give him detention for it.

The detention was short, but small blessings weren't enough to prevent Riku from dreaming about letting the guardian out and giving the entire school a scare. He didn't do it, but the fantasy was enough to keep him sane until he could finally leave.

The play island hadn't looked so good to him since he returned from the realm of darkness. It practically glowed with the possibility of forgetting his worries. Sora and Kairi were there, too. If he found them, he could vent about his bad day to them, and they could make him feel better.

They weren't near the docks or on the mini-island where they sparred, but that was fine. Riku let himself relax a little as he wandered the familiar paths, knowing that they would be there somewhere. He was by the Secret Place when he heard giggling.

He peeked in and his heart twisted.

Sora and Kairi were sitting so close together that their shoulders were touching, and Kairi was giggling in that light, airy way she only did for Sora, and Sora was smiling so wide with the smile that Riku would kill a million Heartless to see directed at him, and Riku-

Riku turned and walked in the other direction. They were so wrapped up in each other he doubted they noticed he was even there.

He left the play island and somehow kept the tears away until he collapsed on his bed and put his head in his hands. The guardian came out. Riku didn't know if he summoned him or if he came out because he sensed Riku’s distress, but it didn't matter. He was someone to talk to, and he didn't know if he could understand his words well enough to judge him anyway.

“Sometimes I think I should have stayed in the realm of darkness. It’s not like I deserved to come back, not after what I did. And what’s here for me? I can’t have a life here. I never wanted to before, and I don’t want to now. The only reason I’m still here is…”

Sora.

Riku started to sob. The guardian looked on. 

“I should be happy right now. My stupid mistake was fixed, there’s peace in the worlds, all of the trouble is gone, and Sora is okay. He’s better than okay! He’s… Sora. I knew that he liked Kairi, I _knew_ it, and I should be happy for them. They’re my best friends. This is how it was supposed to be. They’re the hero and the princess. I should be happy. I should be grateful he still likes me at all! So why-”

_Why do I keep wishing he’d look at me like that?_

“I know why. And I… why can’t I love him like a normal person, the way guys are _supposed_ to like other guys? Why can’t I like Kairi? She’s nice, and she’s good, but I don’t like her in that way. I- I tried! I tried to imagine kissing her, and holding her hand, but she never stayed. She always turned…”

Riku said the thing he only admitted to himself when looking up at Sora’s crystal prison.

“She always turned into Sora.”

He finally looked at the guardian, expecting him to be shocked or disgusted, but he was subdued with sadness. His eyes look softer, and Riku swore he used to take up the entire room, but now he could fit next to Riku on the bed and ruffle his hair slowly, just like-

It all fit together. Riku’s self-loathing melted away into shock because-

_“And you will find me, friend. No ocean will contain you then.”_

“It’s you.”

Riku looked up at the guardian and saw him for the man he was, the one who gave him the Keyblade and the promise of a life outside his tiny world.

“What happened to you? How did you end up like this?”

The guardian didn't answer.

Riku wiped his eyes. 

He knew what he had to do.

He felt the connection that bound that man’s Heartless to his heart, the one that was tying him to his control, and he broke it.

Everything happened quickly after that. The guardian collapsed a little, barely propping himself up with one hand because the other was desperately scrambling at the bandages at his mouth. He finally ripped them off with a snap. He took a shaky breath.

And he spoke.

“One day I will make this right.” The voice was rusty from disuse, but it gained clarity with each word. “Aqua, Ven, one day I will make this right.”

The voice was pure nostalgia to Riku’s ears.

“It really is you,” he murmured. 

“One day I will make this right,” he said back. There was a gold flicker, and for a second, Riku could see the man he was.

“Make what right?”

“Aqua. Ven.”

Riku thought for a second.

“I’m sorry. I don’t know who those people are.”

“I will make this right.”

Was that all he could say? At least he had the ability to talk now.

“I don’t know who those people are,” Riku said, “but Sora might. Follow me.”

Riku ran from the house, the guardian at his heels, and Riku didn't care if anyone saw them. He didn't care if he found Sora and Kairi making out (okay, he would have cared a lot, actually) because he had the chance to pay back the man who made his dreams come true.

He couldn't wait to tell Sora.


	2. Part 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The highly-requested Part 2: Wayfinder reunion redux

The guardian was almost as happy to see Sora as Riku was.

“Ven,” he said. “Ven, I will set this right.”

“His name is Sora,” Kairi corrected gently.

The guardian turned to her.

“A...qua?”

“My name is Kairi.”

“Aqua, Ven, one day I will set this right.”

That made Sora stop and think. He looked up and made his cute thinking face.

“Aqua… Ven… hey, I think I’ve heard those names before!”

Riku almost jumped in excitement. “You have?”

“Uh huh. It was at Disney Castle. There was this portal to this wasteland, and this ghost was on the other side. He was saying the same stuff the guardian’s saying.”

“Then let’s go to Disney Castle,” Riku said.

Kairi giggled. Riku turned to her.

“What?”

“Who are you and what have you done with Riku?” she said with a teasing smile. “You sound just like Sora.”

Riku glanced at Sora and tried not to blush. 

“I’m just following my heart.”

Sora was blushing, too. 

_He must be thinking about Kairi._

“Does that mean you guys are leaving?” Kairi asked.

“Not just us,” Riku said. “We’ll go together.”

Kairi smiled, and Riku could feel the light of her heart on his.

  
  


The good news about leaving the Destiny Islands was that Riku was free of so many things. Now he never had to do that essay, or that homework, or deal with detention. He could go back to travelling the stars with Keyblade in hand and Sora by his side.

The bad news about leaving the Destiny Islands was that Riku had to say goodbye to his mother.

He told the guardian to stay out of sight on the play island and ran home just in case he needed anything. He changed out of his school uniform and into the clothes he wore when he fought Xemnas with Sora. Technically, that was all he needed, but he was rummaging through his room just in case there was something else to take when he heard her voice.

“You’re leaving again, aren’t you?”

Riku froze and turned. 

“Mom, I-”

“It’s okay,” she said. “I don’t know what happened or where you went, but you left these islands as a boy, and you came back as a man. I’m so proud of you, Riku.”

“You shouldn’t be,” he said. 

“Don’t be ridiculous,” his mother said. “You’ve grown so much. I only wish I was there to see it. When you came back, I hoped that you'd stay so I could get a little more time with you, but you don’t need me anymore.”

“Now who’s being ridiculous?” Riku asked. He was blinking back tears. “You’re my mom. I’ll always need you.”

He gives her a hug. He was taller than her now.

“This is about your ghost, isn’t it? The one with the crossed arms?”

Riku should have denied it for the World Order, but he had a feeling he couldn't convince her she was wrong.

“I have to help him,” he said.

“That’s my boy,” she said. “I love you.”

“I love you too, Mom.”

“Try and stay safe. Take care of yourself.”

“I will.”

Riku left his childhood home and did not look back.

  
  


Riku wanted to say hi to Mickey, but according to Queen Minnie, he was busy analyzing some data. She was more than happy to show them the Cornerstone and didn't seem very bothered by the dark guardian at their heels.

“Why, he almost feels familiar,” she said, “like I’ve met him before.”

The guardian said nothing. 

The other side of the portal was dead. A dry wind blew over dusty earth. There was nothing else there. There weren’t even weeds peeking from the desolated cracks. The only living things there were Riku, Kairi, Sora, and the guardian.

A stronger gust of wind blew towards them, kicking up the dust and forcing them to cover their eyes. When it faded, they were no longer alone. A suit of armor kneeled in front of a Keyblade that was almost as tall as Riku. 

“Aqua… Ven…”

It had the same voice as the guardian, and it spoke the same names, but it sounds more hollow, like the voice was echoing through the armor.

Sora held his hands out. 

“Careful, guys,” he said. “That thing is strong. It knocked me and Donald and Goofy into next week.”

Kairi looked at it with a curious expression. 

“Naminé knows him,” she said. 

Riku and Sora looked at her. 

“What?”

“Naminé knows him,” she repeated, stepping out from behind Sora’s arm. Her form flickered, and Riku saw Naminé’s image for a brief second. 

“Hello again,” she said. 

“Witch.”

“Hey!” Sora shouted. 

“Don’t call her that,” Riku said. 

“I know you,” the ghost said to Riku. “We met before, way back when.”

“I know,” Riku said. “How do I help you?”

“Huh?” Sora asked, cocking his head to the side like a confused puppy. “Riku, you know this guy, too?”

Naminé looked back at the guardian. 

“Maybe they can fuse,” she said, “like a Nobody and their other selves.”

The guardian approached the suit of armor. When he touched its hand, there was a blinding light. 

When it faded, the guardian was still there, but the armor was gone. 

“One day I will set this right,” he said.

Riku tried not to sigh in disappointment. 

“How do you feel, Terra?” Naminé asked. 

“Terra?” Riku echoed. 

When he said his name, the guardian flickered, and Riku could see his human form again. 

“Woah!” Sora shouted. “You really are a person!”

“I’m sorry I can’t do more,” Naminé said. 

The guardian- no, Terra- bowed his head in gratitude. Then Naminé was gone. 

“What now?” Sora asked. 

“We should see if Mickey knows what to do,” Riku said. “Hopefully he’s done with his data.”

  
  


He was done with his data. Riku couldn’t hold back a smile as he saw his friend. 

“Mickey!”

Mickey looked just as pleased. “Gawrsh, it’s good to see you, Riku.”

“How was your data analysis, Your Majesty?” Sora asked. 

“We learned a lot,” Mickey said. “I was just about to send for-“ he finally saw Terra. “Riku, who’s that?”

“Oh, this is Terra,” Riku said. “He was Ansem’s guardian for a while, but he’s free now.”

The name made Mickey jump. 

“ _You’re_ Terra?” He narrowed his eyes. “Their hurting will end when you return to mend it,” he murmured. Louder, he said, “we should talk to Master Yen Sid about this.”

If Yen Sid was surprised to see Terra, he didn’t show it. He merely narrowed his eyes and stroked his beard. 

“So your name is Terra?” 

“That’s what Naminé called him,” Kairi said. “I don’t know how she knows him.”

“If it is the Terra I know, then it is indeed a strange coincidence,” Yen Sid said. 

“Aqua. Ven.”

“Hmm. Yes, those were the names of his fellow students.”

“What happened to them?” Sora asked. 

“It was more than ten years ago,” Yen Sid said. “There was a great battle, and none of them made it through the other side unscathed. Ventus fell into a deep slumber. Aqua hid him somewhere to look for Terra.”

“What happened to Aqua?” Kairi asked.

Yen Sid looked at Mickey.

“We can’t tell you,” Mickey said quietly.

Terra narrowed his eyes and loomed over Mickey.

“Aqua.”

“Why not?” Riku asked. He had lost the ability to feel Terra’s emotions, but he could hear the impatience in his voice. “Do you not know?”

“We are not equipped to travel to where she is,” Yen Sid said.

“So you know where she is,” Sora said. 

“We agreed not to tell you until you were ready,” Mickey said. “There’s something called the Mark-”

Terra grabbed Mickey by the shirt and held him up to his snarling face. Mickey’s eyes grew wide. 

“I will set this right,” Terra growled.

The ‘even if I have to go through you’ was unsaid.

“Patience, Terra,” Yen Sid admonished. “Do not repeat the mistake you made with Eraqus.”

The name meant nothing to Riku, but it had a noticeable effect on Terra. He dropped Mickey with a growl and flitted across the room, right hand flexing in what Riku now realized was a futile attempt to summon his Keyblade.

“You should at least tell Terra,” Kairi said. “Doesn’t he have the right to know what happened to his friend?”

“Very well,” Yen Sid said. “But you must promise not to do anything rash.” He was looking at Sora.

“Um, sure,” Sora said. 

“You, too, Riku.”

“I promise not to do anything rash,” Riku said. “Why?”

Mickey’s ears went back and he looked down. “I saw her… in the realm of darkness.”

“The realm of darkness?” Riku echoed weakly.

He had been there so many times. How had he not seen her? 

Terra backed away. His yellow eyes were wide, and his hands were shaking.

“Aqua…” he whispered.

“It’s alright, Terra,” Riku said. “We’ll find her. I promise.”

“Yeah,” Sora said. “You, Aqua, and Ventus will be together again in no time.”

“I will set this right.”

“That’s right,” Sora said. “And we’ll help you every step of the way.”

“What do we need to do, Master?” Kairi asked.

“First, there is the matter of-”

Terra had gotten up and was holding out his hand, eyes narrowed in concentration. Before anyone could say anything, a corridor of darkness appeared.

“No!” Mickey shouted.

Terra took off through the corridor. Riku, on an impulse, rushed after him.

“Terra!” 

Sora’s voice was distorted, like someone crying out in their sleep, but before Riku could put too much thought into it, the corridor closed behind them, and Riku focused on running after Terra.

_Maybe this wasn’t such a good idea._

He made it through the other side of the corridor right before it closed. His relief was short-lived once he looked around and recognized the shore of the dark margin. It had been completely replaced with fear by the time he realized he and Terra weren’t alone.

Two people were sitting on the shore. A man in a black coat sitting on a rock glanced over. A woman with eyes of steel jumped to her feet and landed into a fighting position.

“Who are you?” Her voice was as rough as the waves lapping on the shore.

Terra rushed to her.

“Aqua.”

All the fight drained from her. She looked up at the guardian with eyes full of sorrow.

“Terra? Is that you?” Her voice cracked in emotion as she reached out to his face. 

“Aqua, one day I will set this right.” Terra’s form flickered, and Riku saw a smile on his face.

“Oh, Terra. What happened to you? I thought- I thought you were in the realm of light.”

“We were,” Riku said. “But we came here for you.”

Terra was a giant, looming Heartless with enough strength to crush rock in his hands, but once Aqua’s eyes caught onto Riku, she positioned herself between them as if he were as weak as a child.

“Who are you?”

“This is Riku,” the hooded man said.

“Ansem the Wise?”

“Riku…” Aqua echoed. “Mickey told me about you. Did you get stuck here again?”

Riku smiled with all of the confidence he could muster.

“We’re here to get you out of here.”

_Please don’t ask how, please don’t ask how, please-_

“How?”

Riku looked at Terra.

“Can you get us out of here?”

Terra didn’t acknowledge him.

_Are we both stuck here now?_

Aqua must have seen the look on his face, because she snickered quietly. 

“You’re just like Mickey. He came here without a plan, too.”

“He made me promise not to do anything rash.”

“He’s one to talk.” Aqua said with a smile. “One time-”

“Ven.”

Aqua’s smile dropped with the subject, as if nothing else in all of the worlds mattered or ever had. 

“Do you know if Xehanort is still trying to locate Ven?” she asked Terra.

“I don’t know where Ventus is,” Riku said, “but we defeated Xehanort’s Heartless and his Nobody, so he should be gone for good now.”

“That’s good,” Aqua said. “Ventus is asleep. Master Yen Sid said his heart was lost. Now that Terra’s back, maybe his heart can find his way home.”

“Ventus’s heart is gone? He’s asleep?”

Aqua nodded. Riku’s heart twisted in empathy.

“We’ll get out of here,” he said. “And the second we do, you can take us to where Ventus is sleeping. Together, we’ll light his way home.”

“Thank you, Riku.”

Riku gazed out over the water.

“Well, we need someone to light our way home, first.”

“Riku!”

Riku couldn’t believe his ears. He looked up, and he couldn’t believe his eyes.

“Sora?”

Sora descended from the sky and landed right of him. 

“Made it!”

His eyes were sparkling. The smile on his face made Riku’s heart squeeze in the best way.

_How could I possibly be more in love with him?_

“Ah, Sora,” Ansem the Wise said from the rocks he was sitting on. “Somehow, I’m not surprised you made it here.”

Aqua’s eyes were wide. 

“Who- how?”

He flashed her a grin and summoned a steel Keyblade. Both Aqua and Terra were taken aback.

“Hey, that’s…”

Sora shrugged. “I found it on the beach.” He finally noticed Aqua and Terra’s reaction. “Oh, is this yours?”

Aqua looked away. “It’s… it’s our master’s. I…” she looked back at Terra “I had to borrow it.”

Terra wouldn’t look at her or the Keyblade.

“Let’s go!” Sora said. “I know the way back!”

“Alright, Sora,” Riku said. “I’ll follow your lead.”

_I’ll follow you anywhere._

The first thing Aqua did (after collapsing on warm sand for the first time in years with tears in her eyes) was go to Castle Oblivion. Riku exchanged a glance with Sora.

“Are you sure?” Riku asked. “You can always rest here or at Master Yen Sid’s.”

“Thank you,” Aqua said. “But Ven’s expecting us.” She smiled wryly at Terra. “Said I’d be right back, but I’m not even close. I’m in for an earful.”

“Ven.”

They paused in front of Castle Oblivion. It looked exactly the same way it did when Riku left it a year ago to wake Sora. Was Ventus somewhere in there?

Movement from Aqua caught Riku’s attention. With a deep breath, she held the steel Keyblade aloft. A beam of light shot from the Keyblade, and Castle Oblivion creaked in response. A projection of another castle rose up, and the towers rearranged like a wind-up toy coming to life. With a final shimmer, the ever-present cloud cover blew away, revealing a bright, sun-lit courtyard. 

They all looked around in amazement. Even Terra’s frozen snarl seemed to soften a bit. Castle Oblivion’s new form was beautiful. Graceful white towers floated above soft, green grass. But the most beautiful thing was Sora’s eyes sparkling in pure wonder.

They stepped through the doors and into the castle. Aqua’s face had closed off in resolute tension. She strode through the marble halls, barely waiting for Riku and Sora. Terra followed her as close as her shadow. 

The four of them entered a giant room with a stained glass window on one end. On the other was three giant thrones of wood. A boy sat upon one of them, head slumped in slumber. His feet didn’t even hang off the end of the chair.

Riku exchanged a glance with Sora.

“Roxas?”

Aqua jolted to a stop for an instant before running forward. 

“Ven,” she said quietly. She peered at his face from the side of the chair like he would disappear if she blinked.

Terra mirrored her position on the other side of the chair.

“Ven,” he said, just as quietly.

Aqua reached out, stroked his face, and embraced him. Her face was dripping with enough regret to make Riku’s heart twist in empathy. Terra gripped the arm of the throne with so much force Riku was surprised it didn’t crack.

“I’m sorry it took so long.”

She pulled away, face hardened in resolution, and shook his shoulder.

“Ven, wake up.” Her voice crackled with emotion. “Open your eyes, please!” Aqua was gripping both of his shoulders now, but Ven didn’t even twitch. She looked up at Terra in desperation.

“Ven?” Terra prompted.

Ven didn’t answer.

“Why? Your heart never found its way home?” Her grip tightened and her face wavered. “Is my heart not bright enough anymore? Master Yen Sid said you’d follow our love home." Her hands began to shake. "We love you, Ven. We love you, and we’re here. I’m here, even Terra’s here- so come home!” The desperation was plain as day on her face. “I know you’re mad at me, and I deserve it, but please, come home! I don’t care if you hate me, as long as you’re awake enough to do it. If not for me, then do it for Terra. He needs you. _I_ need you! Wake up, Ventus! Please!” 

Aqua’s words echoed in the empty hall. 

“Aqua…” Terra reached out to her, but before his hand made contact, something caught his attention, and he whipped his head over to face it.

“Aqua,” Sora said.

Riku looked at him. There was something odd about his voice, as if it were mumbled by a sleepwalker. His eyes were blank and half-closed.

“Ven,” Terra said, eyes locked onto Sora.

“No,” Riku said. “That’s Sora. He’s not-”

_But why else would Roxas look exactly like Ventus?_

“Ven,” Terra repeated.

Aqua looked up. 

“Ven?” she asked quietly. 

“Aqua. Terra.” Sora stumbled forward, towards the inert body still slumped on the throne. His voice was still eerily flat. “I can’t… I can’t wake up. Sora, please…”

Sora closed his eyes.

Suddenly, Ventus’s body erupted into a sunburst. Golden tendrils of light danced around the throne. 

The light faded. Sora stumbled, but Riku caught him before he could fall.

“Sora! Are you okay?”

Sora braced himself against Riku. Riku’s heart sped up in response.

“I’m fine,” Sora said. 

Riku looked back up at Ventus’s slumped form on the throne. 

Ventus opened his eyes.

Aqua gasped. “Ven?”

Ventus blinked, looked up, and smiled at her. “Good morning, Aqua.”

A quiet laugh bubbled up from Aqua's throat. 

“Good morning, Ven,” Aqua murmured back. There were happy tears in her eyes.

“Ven,” Terra said.

Riku was worried Ventus wouldn’t recognize Terra, but his eyes lit up the second they landed on him.

“TERRA!”

He leapt from the throne and into Terra’s arms. Terra caught him easily and spun him around like he weighed nothing. Small wisps of light were drifting away. There was another flash of light, and Riku closed his eyes with a wince.

The sound of bodies hitting the floor made Riku open his eyes again. Terra- the real, human Terra- must have buckled under Ventus’s weight, because he was on the floor. Ventus had fallen on top of him.

Ven looked up and laughed in pure joy. “You’re here, you’re really here!”

Terra was grinning. “You found me, Ven, just like you promised.”

“Terra!” Aqua ran over and threw her arms around them. They returned her embrace, happy tears running down their cheeks.

“Woah,” Sora said. His weight was on his two feet again, but for some reason, he still clung to Riku. “That’s exactly what happened with me and Kairi. I was in the darkness, then- bam! I was back!”

“Is Ventus a Princess of Heart or something?” Riku asked. 

“I dunno,” Sora said.

Riku smiled. “What do you mean you ‘dunno’? He was sleeping in your heart, wasn’t he?”

Sora pouted. “Well, yeah, he was, but there are only seven Princesses of Heart, right?”

“Dunno,” Riku said.

He looked back at Aqua, Terra, and Ventus. They were still holding onto each other.

Terra looked up at Riku. 

“It’s you,” he said. “You were the boy on the beach.”

Riku nodded. “I owe you everything,” he said. “Thank you.”

Terra stood. 

“No, I should be thanking you. You brought me back to them.”

“You and Aqua did most of the work,” Riku said. 

Terra shook his head. “No, I couldn’t have done it without you. Really, from the bottom of my heart, thank you for lighting my way home.” He blinked, as if the words really hit him, and helped his friends off the floor. They smiled at him, and he returned it with a grin of pure contentment. “I’m really home. I really made it.” 

Riku smiled. “Welcome back.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm not very happy with how this part turned out, but I hope you guys enjoyed it!
> 
> (And yeah I know Sora doesn't have the power of waking yet and w/e but what was I supposed to do, write "insert DDD here"?)


End file.
